April 20, 2012

Nucking Futs

A hilarious twist and insight into the world’s obsession with social media.

Hilarious in it ridiculousness, this show really pushes the boundaries of ‘normal’ social media use. How many Facebook updates is too many? Do you really need to tweet every hour? Just how many of your ‘friends list’ are actually your friends?

We follow Cleo Kline (Cherie Jacobson) as she films a documentary about her self-published online novel, the woman behind the words and the life of an online ‘celebrity’. After a break down over a brutal review on Rod’s Reads, Cleo’s sister, Diane (Alex Lodge), collects her from a ‘health spa’, brings her back to the rural safety of the family farm in Huntly and the filming begins. Diane is forced to wean her sister of the technology in the hopes that she will let go of her incessant need to constantly update every social media outlet she has access to. We also discover the darker side of such things as online dating and people not always being who the claim to be.

The dialogue is extremely witty and awkwardly forward at times. The adult humour was brilliant, Cleo showing a childlike naivety by naming her books such titles as “Her Moist Abyss” and “Come On, Myself”. Hopefully such jokes went over the head of the twelve year old I noticed sitting with his parents, otherwise the discussion on the way home would have been interesting! The cast all perform brilliantly and comfortably in their roles. Each character has represents a different element of the story, mass and social media, fraudsters and their victims and more.

The lighting is simple which suits this show and the screen on the back wall is a great idea, giving us extra insights and points of view, used especially well in the ‘photo shoots’. Almost all of the props and stage setting are made out of cardboard, even the kitchen bench, evidence that this show doesn’t take itself too seriously and is made to have fun with. Which, after all, is what a ‘play’ is all about.